Drinks at Obama’s on Thursday

The much-anticipated meeting between Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the officer who arrested him is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday at the White House, a senior administration official said. Sgt. James Crowley will drink Blue Moon, the president will drink Budweiser, and Professor Gates will drink Red Stripe or Beck’s. At a press conference Monday, White House Press Secretary Gibbs fielded questions on the beer choices. “What’s wrong with Budweiser?” he asked when a reporter questioned the president’s beer choice. And, to the question “Pretzel or chips?” Gibbs responded: “We’re just going to go straight beer. No sense in diluting it.”